Titchard excited by Thunder's chances

The Red Rose put the finishing touches to their ECB T20 Division One title triumph with wins over Surrey and Yorkshire at Banstead Cricket Club.

A number of the Thunder players were involved in the success in Surrey, namely Natalie Brown, Kate Cross, Rachel Dickinson, Sophie Ecclestone, Eve Jones, Emma Lamb and Ellie Threlkeld.

“A few years ago, with the county stuff, our aim was to be competing in the 50-over and T20 comp,” said Titchard.

“Our development programmes have been good and have given support to girls of the right ages.

“This year, we’ve added a couple of players. We had Alex Hartley back and added Amy Satterthwaite as overseas, but we’ve done well in both.

“That’s a brilliant lift moving into the Kia Super League.

“They’ve performed to a good level throughout the summer programme, which is encouraging.”

Titchard and his Thunder KSL squad begin preparations for next Friday’s opener against Yorkshire Diamonds at Headingley.

They have two warm-up matches as part of their build-up, including against Loughborough Lightning on Friday.

And Titchard can’t wait to get going: “Once you get down to ‘it’s here now’, it has a real excitement about it,” he said.

“It’s a short and fast competition, so you need to start well.

“You can be out of it quickly. But, if you win a game or two, you’re in the mix for the top three. We want to get to Finals Day.

“There’s a nice feel to the players we’ve got, and they are a year down the line with the experience.

“It’s an added value that the World Cup has gone so well for England, and I think there’s an extra buzz from our girls that they want to get on their own big stage and show what skills they’ve got.”

Titchard was in charge during last year’s inaugural campaign when the Thunder only won one of five matches.

“There was an air of disappointment because we had underachieved with results, but the theme was definitely one of excitement moving forwards,” he added.